Every Dog
by TheAllKnowingUpChuck
Summary: They say that every dog has his day, well, I'm a TALKING dog, and today is MINE!
1. Chapter 1

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**_(DISCLAIMER: I don't own Maximum Ride, I don't own Total ... All I own is my computer, so there!)_**

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**CHAPTER ONE**

Yes, I have thumbs, that's the first thing I want to let everyone know. I, have thumbs.

That is the ONLY reason I can type.

See me typing?

(Laughs)

TYPE TYPE TYPE TYPE!!!

I am so cool…

Anyway. The humanoids got their own story, so, why can't I have mine?

Yeah, every dog has his day and baby…

I'm a _talking_ dog, and today is MY day!


	2. Chapter 2

_(A/N; Okay, people ... I pictured this coming out differently and I'm going to put more than just this one plotline into it but here's a better synopsis than the first one... This is Total's POV during a few adventures with the Flock.)_

_R&R or I won't continue._

Chapter 2

It has come to my attention that SOME people don't think I'm very interesting!

I'll have you know that I am VERY interesting! I get a front row seat to everything that happens around here. Angel tells me secrets, and people, I KNOW things that would make you all green with envy.

Which is why I'm telling you this story. Because I have some pretty interesting things to say!

We are staying with Max's mom, and I am currently hiding under the couch trying to avoid that DOG … Magnolia I think they call her.

Little secret about Magnolia?

She SNIFFED me! She _SNIFFED_ me!

And she eats dog food!

That stuff smells terrible! Would YOU eat it?

I DIDN'T THINK SO!

Well, anyway, I am hiding under the couch, trying to stay away from HER since everyone else is outside.

Yeah, they left ME inside. Can you believe that? It's an OUTRAGE! They might as well put a chain on me and tie me to a stake in the yard! Make me live in a little pressboard box and sleep on a nasty old rug that smells like feet!

They left ME inside while they were … Doing whatever they were doing…

Well, I THOUGHT I was alone in the house, except for Magnolia, but that's a different story. I'm trying to prove to you how interesting I am, remember?

Well, here I am hiding under the couch being really REALLY quiet and guess who sneaks downstairs?

Tall-dark-and-winged!

Yeah, he's been hiding out upstairs a lot lately complaining of a bellyache. Can you believe that?

Me neither.

I think he's pouting.

Why would he be pouting?

Let's go back a few weeks, shall we?

**SCENE!** An Island off the coast of North Carolina

**TIME!** About two, maybe three months ago … Maybe five months, I don't know…

**PLAYERS!** _**MAX-**_ Jaded bird girl with MAJOR daddy issues _**FANG-**_ Secretive bird boy with underlying feelings of guilt that make him appear dark and mysterious even though he's just horny and awkward

**ACTION!** The whole smashing together on the beach thing…

Aaaannnnnnnnd GO!

Picture something off a cheesy movie, the lead female and male running together on the beach in slow motion with dramatic music playing in the background.

Waves crashing, violins, flutes, happy lovey-dovey music, OK?

Impact in … Three … Two … One!

And they smash together.

Fang drops his apple and the whole time I can tell he's staring at it sitting there on the sand…

I would be, heck, I WAS!

I might not like fruit that much, but it was food. I hadn't eaten anything since a pastry I had in France!

Okay … He MIGHT not have been staring at the apple, that might just have been me…

Now you're wondering why he would be pouting and where all this leads?

Well, fast forward to about eight hours or so later.

Everyone is sitting around eating doughnuts and apples and stuff. Even me, and I have to say I LOVE crullers!

Well, everyone's hanging out, having fun, talking, laughing. I even saw Nudge shoot soda out of her nose when Iggy told how they'd demolished all the Flyboys by flying into the ocean.

Well, Fang gets up, most likely to go relieve himself since I hadn't seen him make the trip to the little boy's side of the woods since we'd arrived.

I personally had gone twice, but that just might be because I have a bladder the size of a small orange.

Speaking of bathrooms, the whole plane ride to England? How in the WORLD was I supposed to go to the bathroom?

Those people deserved getting their EXIT door peed on, I so did NOT deserve to be scolded over that…

Okay OKAY, I'm getting back to the interesting bit. I AM interesting you know…

Well, Fang gets up to go water the trees and he's gone for a while. After about twenty minutes Max gets up to go look for him.

So … Me, being the interesting talking-dog that I am, I go along to make sure no Flyboys are waiting.

I'm sneaking along, hiding behind trees and such, and I see the Almighty-Fang sitting alone at the base of one of those big gnarly trees I'd hiked-a-leg on earlier.

He was sitting against one of MY trees people! MINE!

Well, I didn't make him leave it alone, I just hid in the bushes and watched, cause I'm so interesting and all and I know that if Flyboys were to pop up I would be able to protect Max and Fang … Even though I don't really think he needs protecting from all the 'Exciting' stories he'd told that evening…

But there he was, sitting against one of my trees with his knees drawn up.

And Max comes over and sits beside him, their shoulders rubbing together. She sits there for a few minutes then turns and pets his head.

When has she ever petted my head?

Well, she's petting his head and he's whispering at her and she's really quiet. After a few seconds he pokes her in the ribs and she flinches away from him laughing and saying,

"No, no I did NOT! I did NOT say that!"

And he's saying, "I'm not deaf, I heard you just fine. You said 'I love you … I love you THIIIIIIIIIIIIS much!'"

She shook her head, still smiling, "No … No, I didn't! You misunderstood me!"

"I understood you just fine! You LOOOOVE me!"

She shook her head again, turning to him, her mouth opening to speak but then they're really quiet and I'm waiting for whatever happens next because I'm such an interesting guy and I want to make sure they don't get hurt. Because … You know … Flyboys and stuff…

Then he touches her face and she whispered something and he smiled.

And I'm not going to tell you the rest because it was REALLY GROSS!

And I mean, who wants to hear about tha-

_YIPE!_

OKAY! OKAY! Stop staring at me like that! I'll tell you … Jeez!

I didn't think I was THAT interesting…

Jeez … Okay…

Though I don't know why you want to hear about it, it was really gross and it has very little to do with why he would be pouting at her…

They both leaned in, heads tilting, eyes closing and…

SMACK!

Max grabs her forehead and he grabs his nose.

"Are you OK?"

"Okay? I smashed my face into the ocean at a hundred EM-PEE-EIGHTCH forty-eight hours ago," He said, still holding his face.

"Well, I didn't mean to … You're like six inches taller than me!" She rubbed her head furiously, "Are you bleeding?"

"Yes."

"Lemme see…"

"I'm fine."

"Right, I believe that for a second…"

And I found the coolest smell under that bush and couldn't help but roll in it. You know, it just smelled so COOL. Like leaves and dirt and something herbal … I think it was a rotting bunch of acorns, I don't know.

But see? I told you that you didn't want to hear all that gross stuff about Max and Fang.

Anyway, she checked him out, kissed his boo-boos and all … Then they started kissing, and I know you don't want to hear about that, so back to my COOL smell.

It was all herbal and leafy! And…

HEY! What is your problem? Am I so interesting that you've got to scoff at me?

JEEZ!

I am talking about the absolute COOLEST smell I've EVER found and you're interested in hearing about Max and Fang playing tonsil hockey?

You people need to get your priorities straight!

You've got to choose.

Hearing about my AWESOMELY COOL, AWSOME SMELL!

Or hearing about two teenagers necking under an oak tree…

…You have GOT to be kidding me!

That smell was so COOL! And I was ALL over it and…

Sheesh … Fine…

You guys don't know cool when you smell it, do you…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Max and Fang were REALLY going strong. They were making weird little grunting noises and squishing closer and closer together, kind of groping at eachother.

And I don't know if you've ever been near people who are making out, but it doesn't sound so nice… There's the grunting and repeating each other's names until they loose all meaning, I mean, I can only take so much of hearing;

"Max…"

"Fang…"

"Max…"

"Fang…"

"Max…"

"Fang…"

"Max…"

"Fang…"

Before even I go nuts…

I don't know what was going through their heads … Or other parts of their anatomy for that matter.

But they're kissing, and making weird noises and Fang's slowly bending her backward, trying to lay down…

I think he'd lost a little too much blood when she'd smacked his nose and he was trying to faint, because Max was pushing on his chest.

"Fang … Stop … Wait a second…"

"Huh?" He looked really dazed and glassy eyed when he raised himself up, staring down at her.

See? Blood loss!

She still had her hands on his chest and their faces were inches apart.

I hope they brushed their teeth, that's all I'm saying…

"What are we doing?" She whispered at him.

He shifted uncomfortably and his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water a few times.

She giggled at him, actually giggled, "You think, maybe, we should stop?"

After a second he shook his head, "No?"

She giggled again and pushed against his chest and he sat up, sighing in frustration.

They sat there side by side for a few minutes shoulders together and he sighed again, "We should go back to camp before they come looking for us…"

Max nodded, "Yeah, I doubt you want them finding you … Like this," She motioned to his lap.

He scratched his head and drew his knees up a little smile coming over his face. "Yeah…"

She giggled again.

Jeez, did he suck her brain out?

I tried to find that cool smell again but couldn't so I just lie there on my stomach waiting for whatever happened next.

Max stood up and brushed off her behind and back, then shook out her wings and her hair. "You need a hand?"

He choked on a laugh.

"Stop it! You PIG!" She stamped her foot and aimed a playful kick at his rear.

He fended her off and she shook her head at him.

"You better stop it, or what just happened … Whatever just happened … Won't ever happen again … Not that I WANT that or anything … But yeah!"

He started laughing.

"STOP LAUGHING!" She aimed another kick at him and caught his ribs lightly enough to send him rolling away laughing.

"STOP IT!" She followed him, trying to kick his butt, literally, but every time she kicked him he drew his knees higher, arms around his middle laughing his head off.

She dropped to her knees and started, I don't know how to describe it, I couldn't tell if she was trying to slap him, or tickle him, or tear his clothes off, but in a few minutes they were both laughing.

Then they did that weird silence thing again and she was pinning him to the ground, his arms above his head and he was staring up at her all 'What's this?' like.

And she was staring down at him all 'What's this?' like…

And THAT'S when everything got REALLY interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I know you're wondering how Max and Fang could have gone from 'What's this?' one minute to him hiding from each other the next…

Well, it has words in it and I bet you'll never guess what they are.

They were there staring at each other, Max looking down at Fang, Fang looking up at Max and then…

"I slept with Lissa."

Max stared down at him for about five seconds…

Then brought her knee up, right into his groin.

Can you say 'ouch'?

"_PIG!"_

He balled up on himself, both hands cupping his recently kneed area his face kind of pale and waxy and Max was on her feet, leaving him lying there not quite writhing, but in more pain than I bet he's ever felt.

She stormed off and I heard Angel calling to her, screaming;

"Max? MAX, WAIT!"

So, I left Fang lying there and took off running, getting to the beach in time to see Max shrinking off into the moon.

I told you. I TOLD YOU that you didn't want to hear it. I TOLD YOU! But did you listen?

NOOOOOO!

Nobody EVER listens to Total, nuh-uh. Nobody EVER listens to me because I'm not 'interesting'.

Well, this UN-interesting talking dog knows quite a few secrets.

I was there remember?

And I also know what REALLY happened between Fang and Lissa.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I told you it got really interesting…

And you know the best part?

I can't tell you what really happened yet, because if I did you wouldn't want to hear the rest of the story.

And the story is what makes it all so interesting…

Now, we go back about a year…

**SCENE!** Somewhere in the sky over Washington DC..

**TIME!** About a year ago…

**PLAYERS!** _**MAX-**_ Jaded bird girl with MAJOR daddy issues _**FANG-**_ Secretive bird boy with underlying feelings of guilt that make him appear dark and mysterious even though he's just horny and awkward

**ACTION!** Max and Fang flying over Virginia together

Aaaannnnnnnnd GO!

You remember how I told you Angel tells me secrets, right?

Well, when Max and Fang got back from their little flight Angel told me what happened then forgot about it herself, because she's only six years old and doesn't understand how significant some things can be.

Max and Fang were flying and he was acting weird?

And he confessed to feeling 'Way hot'?

Well, there was more to that than Angel thought.

She told me about it, so I started following him around you know? Because I absolutely LOVE flying FAST. And Max doesn't like carrying me much, you know?

Probably because she's jealous that I'm so cool and she's the mommy tyrant.

Well, it was about two days after that that I found out what was so exciting about Fang showing signs of 'Warp Drive Syndrome'.

Fang can be creepy sometimes. Sneaking about like a cat-

Grrrrr, cats….

Well, one night he crept downstairs in Anne Walker's house and everyone was in bed asleep, except me, of course. Because I was following him since he'd been acting weirdly…

Well, he comes out of his room creeping downstairs wearing nothing but his boxer shorts so I follow him, hiding under the couch, which gave me a pretty good view of the kitchen.

And he goes in and pulls out a tray of ice from the fridge, filling a cup with it then sitting down at the table eating it.

Like CRUNCHING it up with his TEETH…

Gives me shivers thinking about it.

Well, he eats two trays of ice. TWO TRAYS, then drinks like a gallon of water and then sits down at the table for a few minutes holding his head.

He was sweating a LOT, it was making his hair all wet and clingy to his face and neck and his cheeks were red and waxy looking. He ground his teeth and, I swear to you … He flickered.

Like for half a second his whole body just flickered from his normal color to a darker color, almost the same as his wings.

Then he sat there for a long time panting and shaking … Like he was going to hurl.

After a few minutes of sitting there he refilled the ice trays, put them back in the freezer and went back upstairs, stopping on the steps for a few seconds to breathe.

And the whole 'flickering' thing was just the beginning.

I'm small you see? I'm close to the ground, so it isn't really that hard for me to say … Look under doors?

Well, I trotted around for a few more days, and while the guys were at that weird smelling school thing, I sniffed around, because, like I said, that's what I'm good at. I'm pretty dang interesting!

Well, as I was sniffing around, I noticed a weird smell coming from Fang's room. So, I went in to investigate.

And you remember when I told you that I have thumbs? That was important! As was when I told you that Angel tells me secrets that she doesn't think are important enough to remember herself.

Well, I jumped up and opened his door and started sniffing around.

His bed smelled funny … Like lots of teenaged bird-boy sweat … And fear.

Yes, when you're afraid you smell different, and from how his bed smelled, he was petrified.

I sniffed some more and found a notebook in his pack. NOT the one he took with him to that weird smelling school thing.

Well, I opened his pack and pulled out the notebook … And it was full of drawings.

And Fang really isn't that bad at drawing things…

So I looked through the notebook a while and noticed some of the pictures were familiar.

There was one of the Gasman dive bombing the pond out back, A few of bats flying overhead, A sketchy, vague drawing of a church spire. Another vague sketch of a building's blue print, Max eating ice cream, staring at some guy in the window who was smiling at her … A woman I'd never seen before with big brown eyes and long dark hair. A hand and arm with jagged scars across the wrist, a girl looking seductively over her shoulder a pattern of dark spots down her back-

A steely eyed young man wearing a jumpsuit …

This all seams kind of relevant now that it's a year later. But at the time it was just weirdness to me.

But I kept looking, and what I saw in the last few pages of that notebook will haunt me for the rest of my furry little life.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

No, I can't tell you what I saw right now, if I did then the story would be ruined. Just like the truth with Lissa, you'll have to wait until the rest of the story is told.

When I was looking through his notebook I didn't know what I was seeing. And I guess that's a good thing.

Its also a good thing that I looked at that notebook, because it got left at Anne Walkers when we cleared out of there and if Fang's made a new one I have yet to find it.

But, back to the story.

I put the notebook back in his pack and left his room, taking a moment to shut his door again, which if you had seen me hanging off his doorknob you would have laughed your heads off.

I had to take a running leap and grab the thing, all the while praying I didn't shut my nose up in the door.

And when it shut I swung off, bounced off a wall and landed in the floor.

Which is probably as close to flying as I'll ever get on my own.

I snooped around the house some more. Finding a rather … 'New' scent in Iggy's room.

I got my first smell of bird-boy pheromones. Which I have to admit … Smells a lot like chickens to me.

Not the BAD smell of chickens … The good smell of them. Clean, healthy chickens who have been warming themselves in the sun.

How do I know this?

Well, Anne Walker had chickens, OK? And I was left alone a LOT, and I have thumbs and can open doors, so I did a little investigating!

And Iggy had it BAD for someone, I can tell you that. And I could smell a GIRL on his shirts … And not just any girl either.

I had smelled her on him when they'd gotten back from their trip to DC and hadn't thought anything of it.

But BOY-O-BOY could I smell her on his clothes now! And I could smell something else too…

A smell I've since named 'Happy Iggy'

Well, I got out of his room quick and sniffed around some more before heading outside to play some tricks on the Putz.

Basically just whistling or calling for him out the window then laughing when he came running, thinking it was Anne or someone.

That and chasing the chickens.

But that got old quick.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I don't think I started noticing anything HIGHLY unusual with Fang until after we'd taken off from Anne Walker's.

And then it was just like 'WHOA! Where did THAT come from?' you know?

It was mostly him sitting up all night with that lap top messing around on his BLOG, reading e-mails and such.

Well, it was one night in particular about two days after the Gasman and Iggy blew a hole in the wall that I was on Angel's lap and she was asleep and I was watching Fang out of the corner of my eye while Max drove the 'Shagin-Wagon'.

I was feeling oddly like I was in a Scooby-Doo episode when Fang looks up, stares straight at me with this shocked, hurt look on his face, and says something really weird, that at the moment I didn't understand and didn't until days later.

"Why didn't she pick me? She was supposed to pick me…"

Then he gave a shudder and his eyes closed.

For a few seconds all I knew was that he was scared and angry, even though he looked asleep. Then a few seconds later he was awake again, typing away on the computer.

As if nothing happened…

Weird huh?

And I mean that's even weird for flying kids and talking dogs!

And then, well … You know the rest, because shortly after that we all separated and I went with Angel, Nudge, Max and Ari.

Yeah, the story's almost over, now we're getting into the explanation parts.

Angel tells me secrets, like I said.

While we were hanging around in Europe she let me in on a big secret that her six-year-old mind, again, thought wasn't that important but was actually vital to what happened and the decisions Fang and Max made.

While we were locked in the dungeon in Germany, Angel told me this;

"I don't understand boys … They're all crazy."

"I'm not crazy, am I?" I said, giving her my best Bambi look.

She shook her head and hugged me, "No, you're just Total."

But then she made a worried face. "Can I tell you a secret?"

I curled up in her lap, "Of course."

She petted my head and scratched that itchy collar someone had put on me.

"Gazzy can read minds too … Not as good as me, but he can a little…"

This didn't really surprise me that much, not really. How else could he and Angel communicate in their heads? And how else would she have known what was happening at that moment in the States.

"He can send me thoughts sometimes, and right now he says Fang's really scared…"

This surprised me beyond belief.

"Why is he scared?"

Angel hesitated, "He's scared cause he's changing the future…"

And that confirmed what I'd already surmised from memories of that weird picture filled notebook I'd found back at Anne Walker's.

"Fang can see the future … Can't he…"

Angel nodded, "He can see it cause of Max and Iggy. Max's got dreams where she sees part of what's gonna happen … And Iggy's got a sense that he can FEEL what's gonna happen … And when they gave Fang blood, they gave him that too … Only together it made each one stronger … Does that make sense?"

I nodded. "He dreams the future really clearly because the skills he got from Max and Iggy complement and enhance each other…"

Angel nodded, "And now he's really scared. He's trying to ignore it, but he can't NOT sleep forever. He tried to get into People Magazine the other day, but he didn't sleep the night before and he missed it…

I nodded again, "Does he know what's gonna happen to us?"

Angel nodded and tears started rolling down her cheeks.

I licked her chin, trying to make her smile again but it only half worked. She smiled, but she continued to cry.

"He's gonna do something stupid, and cause he won't sleep cause he's scared, he won't know its stupid until he's already done it…" She sniffled, "I don't know what he's gonna do, but its gonna be really stupid thinking that it'll protect us all."

"Stupid enough to get us killed?" I hoped it didn't end up like that.

She shook her head, "Stupid enough to break something important."

"What?"

"I don't know, but its small, and he wants it really bad. Bad enough to leave us over it."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

And now that it's already in the past and what's done is done, I can tell you part of what happened and why Fang did what he did.

Fang dreams of the future, complements of Max and Iggy DNA introduced into his system when he was hurt.

He doesn't like to sleep because when he dreams he sees not so good things happening.

Those pictures I saw in the notebook?

They were of the Flock, all six bird-kids and me in that place in Germany. And Ari was there too.

The director separated us, Fang, Iggy and the Gasman were all taken away and exterminated with a group of other experiments.

The Director showed Max video of them dying and Max lost the fight against Omega…

After those pictures were pages of writing. A detailed plan which laid out the choices he'd make until the day Ari showed up.

The plan said he had to leave, the other boys would follow him. He knew that if he stayed with Max they'd all end up dead and the world wouldn't have been saved.

The two nights before Max, Angel, Nudge and I got to the beach where the guys were Fang actually slept because he thought it was all over. But he dreamed that he and Max 'did the deed' and she got pregnant, but died before the baby was born, taking said baby to the grave with her.

He dreamed this many different ways, each way with the same end result.

If Max got pregnant she died of complications, and no matter what the baby died too.

You see, the 'Whitecoats' didn't take into account natural reproduction when they created the kids, at least not with the first few. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel are safe, but Max, Fang and Iggy aren't.

Any woman Fang or Iggy knock-up will die, and if Max gets pregnant, she dies too.

Fang knew this, but he also knew something else from his dreams.

If Max couldn't have him, she wouldn't have anyone. She trusted Fang with her life and weaknesses, and if he were to somehow negate that trust she would be safe … She wouldn't love him…

No man or bird-boy would ever touch her.

I suppose it was a little selfish of him, but then again, in the same instant, it was selfless. Because not only did he prevent Max's death, but he also put his own feelings to the axe.

And now, you know the truth I think…

Fang didn't sleep with Lissa.

He lied in a moment of desperation because he knew what would happen if they went through with what they so obviously wanted to do.

Max would end up dead if he allowed himself to enter into a relationship with her.

He loved her enough to let her go, even though neither one of them wanted to. He chose to lie and appear a pig. Breaking Max's heart, that beautiful, little thing he'd always wanted, and turning her against love completely because he knew Max's maternal instinct was too strong to allow them to have a relationship without children. To allow Max to have any kind of relationship with out having children…

I know what you're thinking.

There were other ways. He could have done it differently and they could be together!

Well, Fang's got a tendency to not think things through entirely. I believe the whole People Magazine fiasco is proof of that.

And this puts us back to the present.

Me, hiding under Dr. Martinez's couch, Fang coming into the room pouting.

Only he's not really pouting.

He's got a notebook in his hands … A notebook I thought was left behind in Virginia.

It looks thicker, with loose pages sticking out of it.

And I'm lying here watching him, trying not to breathe because the notebook isn't all he's got in his hand.

He's holding a pencil, the lead broken.

He puts the notebook on the table, along with the pencil, turns and walks back upstairs, his face kind of empty.

I wait until I hear the guestroom door shut and lock, then I hop up onto the table and open the notebook.

There are more pictures than I remember.

I see ones I recognize, and some I don't. Including quite a few buildings sticking out of the ocean like buoys.

Fires burning … People being bulldozed into mass graves…

And the very last picture in the notebook is of a feather lying in the floor beside a bare foot. Four round dark spots on the carpet next to it…

It takes me a few minutes to call up the courage to run upstairs and stick my nose under the door.

Remember when I said I was small and could look under doors easily?

Well, there's Fang, sitting on the bed his head in his hands.

He looks up and sees my nose sticking under the door.

"Total, is that you?"

"Who do you think it is, Santa Claus? Why don't you let me in?"

He hesitates, scratching his head, then climbs to his feet and unlocks the door.

"What's up?"

"Obviously not your spirits if you're thinking about doing what you drew in that notebook downstairs."

He shifts uncomfortably. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I roll my eyes, "I know why you did it, and kid, it wasn't one of your more intelligent moves."

He opens his mouth to speak, then shuts it and sits heavily on the bed.

"You need to tell her. If you don't I will."

"Tell her what? That I lied so she would hate me and wouldn't end up dead?"

"Yes."

"You're crazy, Total…"

"I'm not the one who told the girl I love that I slept with someone else."

And he shuts up real quick.

"You started a chain of events here that you can't allow to continue!" I jump up on the bed beside him.

"When you told her that lie about Lissa you broke her heart … You changed her."

He turns and stares at me hatefully. "I saved her life!"

"And you killed the world."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

He glares at me for a few more seconds then seems to shrink in on himself.

"You didn't think it through, Fang," I walk around him, trying to look him in the face, but he hides from me. "You broke her heart and took away her reason for caring … She may be Maximum Ride, but she's a girl first of all. A tough girl, a HELL of a tough girl … But she loved you, you were her reason to continue. She was saving the world for you guys … For her family.

"Hell, Fang … She was saving it for her kids."

He scoffs at me, "Total, if she has kids she'll die…"

I nod. "Yeah, she will … But have you ever heard of a condom? Huh?"

He shifts uncomfortably and I can see his face through his hair has gone a little pink.

"Jeez … You just don't THINK do you?"

He turns his head and glares at me again. "I think more than you do apparently … C-" He hesitates, his face going a little more red_, "Things_ like that aren't effective all the time! I've done research, I'm not stupid!"

And I can't help but laugh at him and paw my eyes.

"You think this is funny?"

I shake my head, "No, its not funny, but the fact you can't say 'condom' is funny…"

His lips go together tightly and he turns away, his eyes flashing hurt and anger.

"When you lied to her you changed her spirit … She doesn't have a purpose now, she's cold and angry … You know what'll happen if you keep this up … She'll let the world end.

"Fang, Max has to save the world, and that's a BIG responsibility … But your responsibility is even more important."

He doesn't speak.

"You've got to save Max…"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The only problem with the 'saving Max' plan?

The last time Max and Fang were alone together she kneed him in the crotch.

And I don't know what that's like personally, because I'm a talking-dog and talking-dogs don't usually get kneed in the crotch, thankfully…

But, remember when I was telling you about when that happened, how I ran off after Max?

Well, when I saw her fly off I ran back to Fang and found him just about how Max had left him. Curled up on his side holding himself and making agonized little wheezing noises.

By the time I got back to him he'd been sick and half-digested apples and doughnuts… Well, anyone who has been sick will know what vomit looks like…

After a few minutes he forced himself to his feet and, still holding himself, limped back toward camp.

"Fang, are you OK?" Iggy called to him.

Fang held up an 'OK' sign and limped past the fire toward the ocean, staring off in the direction Max had gone.

I stood there a few yards away staring at him in shock.

You see, at the time I didn't know he'd lied to Max. I truly believed that Mr. Fang had bumped uglies with Ms. Red-Haired-Wonder.

I could just picture it…

Not in a perverted way, but in a way that made me hate him.

So … I kind of did a bad thing…

"You … _YOU!"_ And I lunged at him.

He turned a little and saw me coming, but by that time I'd already bitten him, and let me tell you … I bit him bad…

I jumped and chomped right onto his arm, holding on with my thumbs so he couldn't pull me off. And I just kept biting him.

He started screaming and swinging his arm, trying to knock me off but I held on.

"TOTAL, _NO!_ _STOP IT!_ LET HIM _GO!"_ Angel was screaming at me in a thin terrified voice.

Angel may be able to talk to fish, sharks and control people's minds, but she can't control my mind… I guess they forgot to give her that skill.

She grabbed me and tried to pull me off of him but I held on.

I was screaming at him the whole time I was biting him, but I guess nobody could understand me cause I had my mouth full of bird-boy.

"You JERK! You CHEAT! You PIG! You better be glad I missed your-"

About that time Angel grabbed my jaws and pried them apart, effectively making me let go of Fang.

He fell and scooted away, leaving a trail of blood in the sand.

I was growling and spitting and practically foaming at the mouth trying to get back at him but Angel held me tightly, and no matter how much I wanted to rip off Fang's … _Parts,_ at that moment, I would never hurt Angel.

Iggy, Gasman and Nudge were dropping to their knees beside Fang about then. Trying to see how badly I'd torn his arm up.

Iggy turned to Angel and shouted, "Get him out of here!"

And Angel carried me away, pressing her face into my fur and sobbing.

"Why did you bite him … Total, why!"

"He hurt Max … He slept with that Lissa girl!"

Angel sank to her knees by the fire and sat me down, wiping Fang's blood off my face. She had tears rolling down her cheeks. She shook her head.

"No, Total … He lied … He didn't sleep with Lissa … _He lied."_

I didn't believe her at first, not until she told me WHY he did it.

Then I felt like a real jerk … I felt like a bad dog…

Iggy and Nudge helped Fang back toward the fire and I got a look at what I'd done to his arm.

A few weeks before Angel had had a chunk bitten out of her arm by Ari … Well, now I'd bitten a chunk out of Fang.

And if that wasn't bad enough, he was crying.

He was honestly, tears rolling down his face, chin trembling, CRYING.

Everyone was staring at Angel and she glanced at Fang, concentrating on his mind.

I can tell, when Angel's reading someone's mind, her scent changes. It takes on a little bit of the person she's reading.

Fang nodded and wiped his nose with his uninjured hand. "Tell 'em … But Max can't ever know…"

Angel nodded and told everyone…

And boy, you should have SEEN their faces.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

A great poet once said 'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all'. Well, I've got a news flash for ya'. He was RIGHT.

The fate of the world balances on that saying.

So, here I am, sitting on Fang's bed staring at him. Waiting for him to say ... Something. He'd been sitting there for the last fifteen minutes saying absolutely NOTHING and I'm starting to wonder if he's gone catatonic from the shock of what he's done.

By lying to Max he's taken away her purpose. Her reason to keep fighting. And now, she doesn't care if the world gets saved or not. She'd sit back and let it end right now for all she cares.

And Fang, since he's SO good at thinking things through _(Scoffs)_ has already come up with a plan to rectify this.

Wow, I'm really good at making up stories ... I should write my own book. Maybe a movie... Hmmmm...

If I wrote a movie I would...

HAHA! Just kidding, back to the story...

Although I would like to write a movie some day. I'd be ranked right up there with Peter Jackson, Martin Score-say-ZEE, Robert Zim-eck-uss and John Landis...

_(Takes a few minutes to rap mentally with the names of big time Hollywood directors.)_

Is he going to move any time soon? Or has he really gone catatonic...

"Fang? You OK?"

He moves and I almost jump out of my skin. "Don't scare me like that!"

He stares at me, raising an eyebrow. "Well, Total, if you're so sure I should tell Max how should I do it?"

I shrug, "Go out, buy her something that smells good, or go dig something up, and give it to her ... Then roll over on your back to show submission and you're scot-free!"

His other eyebrow goes up to be with its twin. "Huh?"

I roll my eyes. Are humanoids really this dumb? Or is it just him... Sometimes I think its just him...

"You apologize, featherbrain... Maybe let her kick your butt..."

He shifts against the bed, making a rather uncomfortable face. "It's not my butt I'm worried about."

I roll my eyes and lay down, propping my chin on my paws. I rub the fabric of his quilt between my thumb and fore-digit and sigh, wondering if he knows this thing is mostly polyester, not cotton. "Wear a cup, I don't know what else to tell you about that..."

He rolls his eyes and goes on the defensive, one of his most used defense mechanisms when he gets into situations that test his emotions.

"Where the heck am I gonna get a cup? I don't play sports!" He runs a hand over his hair, "This is stupid... I'm crazy..." And he gets up and walks out of the room locking himself in the bathroom.

I sigh and look around the guestroom, where he Iggy and the Gasman have been sleeping.

It's untidy, and despite being a talking dog, I'm not that messy a person. That and I know my discussion wasn't over with the Almighty Fang... SO, I jump off the bed and decide to round up all the laundry... YEHAW! ROUND 'EM UP, COWDOG... Mostly because I'm the only one who can get stuff from under the beds without using the broom...

And its times like these when I thank God that I have thumbs, because my other alternative would be to carry things in my mouth, and when we're talking about Flock Laundry, sometimes you don't even want to use your hands...

I've seen the Gasman's socks so grimy and gross that they take on voluntary movements of their own. And I'm willing to testify to this people, honestly.

I was trying to help Max do the laundry a few weeks ago and this sock dropped off the laundry basket and clung to my back.

I started running around in circles trying to get it off of me but it wouldn't let me go. And I don't know about you, but I don't like being attacked by putrid socks that have become sentient beings.

I finally got it off my back and gave it my best 'Try that again you!' look. Growling at it and teasing it. Bouncing forward and back to show it that I was faster than it. That no matter how smart it thought it was, I, Total was infinitely more intelligent and agile.

You can't let little things like mutant socks get big heads. Because the last thing we need is all the missing socks to unite and try to take over the world. We already have enough crazies trying to do that.

Well, I'm under the bed digging around when I hear this noise...

I crawl out and stand there in the middle of the boys' room listening ... And I hear it again...

Knocking.

There's someone at the door.

Fang hears it too because he comes out of the bathroom, his whole body tense, arms raised a little at his sides so it'll be easier to start punching. He moves silently down the hall and I creep after him, tiptoeing...

Magnolia rushes out of the kitchen barking and I see this figure standing outside the door. But because Dr. Martinez has these lacy curtains hanging up over the window panes I can't see WHO it is.

But boy are they KNOCKING.

I'm surprised the rest of the flock can't hear it.

And then Fang stiffens on the stairs, shaking his head from side to side and I know its something bad... Something REALLY bad.

I open my mouth to shout for the flock when Fang literally JUMPS down the stairs and runs at the door, flinging it open...

And I get a look at what's standing there ... Well, WHO is standing there.

She's leaning heavily on the doorframe, her face sickly pale, her eyes wide and glassy. Her mouth open, drawing deep, shuddering breaths and I rake my eyes down over her.

Tall, slim body, long blonde hair, overly large T-shirt, plaid skirt, dirty shoes, overly large hooded sweatshirt jacket...

But as I look at her I notice something was wrong with the picture... She's thin alright, but... There's something I can't quite put my fore digit on...

She takes a deep, shaking breath and lets it out, breathing with each word.

"Where ... Where is Jeff?"

Then she seems to crumble in on herself, her face wrinkling with what I can only guess to be agony and she screams...

Clutching at her VERY pregnant belly...

Do you remember the 'Happy Iggy' smell?

Oh, yeah...


	12. Chapter 12

**_(A/N: Ah... Yeah, I haven't updated in a year... I suck... SORRY! ANYWAY... I've finished this story, and all my others, so I'm going to be regularly posting chapters from now on! YAY! Please forgive me for like, laming it up and not posting absolutely ANYTHING for a freaking YEAR!........ Anyway, here it is!)_**

Chapter 12

**Total's Pawnote! Get it? Haha?**

Okay, here's a little something for you because, like I said, the story isn't very interesting unless you've got the facts you need to keep going. So, now that the adventure's over, I'm going to be able to tell you what happened and explain things better so you can actually understand them. I'm adding this because … Well, because I can! I'm a Talking-Hero-Dog!

When Angel told everyone what had happened, back on the beach, she'd left out one crucial thing that I hadn't realized she'd left out until like … just about fifteen minutes after we got a very … VERY familiar visitor.

When Angel told everyone what had happened, why Fang lied to Max, she left out the part about Iggy and Fang having the potential to kill any girl they knock up because of a bunch of genetic stuff that I'm going to TRY and explain to you. But don't hold it against me if I fail miserably.

I'm a talking dog remember? Not a doctor.

Although, that would be cool. 'Paging Doctor Total! Paging Doctor Total!'

Yeah, when I grow up, I want to be a doctor like Doctor Martinez… That would be great…

_(Day dreams for a few minutes)_

Anyway, the flock is 98 percent human. But that 2 percent avian DNA has a big impact on their lives.

The whole having wings thing aside, Max's reproductive system is all out of whack… You see, Max has the potential to both have LIVE babies AND make eggs! Don't ask me how, I'm not a doctor, remember?

BUT, the 98 percent human DNA affects a few things. For Max to have a baby and that baby live, she would have to have an EGG, BUT, her body would naturally send stuff like that to the HUMAN part of her … Parts.

BUT, if she has it like a human the baby'll be born too soon and will die.

And the egg itself would cause major problems because Max can't LAY eggs. So, the baby would decide 'oh, time for me to hatch' and would then hatch INSIDE of her… Which, like a chicken having an egg broken inside of it, it would be bad, because broken egg shell is worse than broken glass. She'd bleed to death and the baby would drown because there's no air in there to breathe.

And in the case before us, that absolutely _has to be _solved or we end up with two dead people on our hands, is that Iggy's girlfriend Tess got pregnant. And is at this point in the story in labor with a baby who could drown in the amniotic fluid, and then when the placenta starts to tear away, she will bleed to death. Because it's a LOT thicker and bigger than a normal human … yeeeeeeeeeaaaah, I just used a bunch of really gross words, **sorry…**

Dr. Martinez, I tip my hat to you, your voice is really easy to remember!

Wow, I pulled off that scientific stuff pretty good!

And now, I drop you off here… We are not at the clinic, but at the hospital and the flock has one freaked out bird-boy on their hands as well as a bunch of freaked out doctors.

Yeah, it's not every day a blind bird boy with a fourteen-foot wingspan threatens to beat your **'expletive'**ing head in…

Why did I switch to talking about things that haven't happened 'yet'?

Well, time has passed since then. I haven't had time to sit down and type until now, have I?

I'm an interesting talking dog, remember? I have a life of my own… Despite what people may think… And my life has been pretty full up until recently… Oh, what with saving the world and all.

What? Didn't you know?

I, Total, saved the world…

**_(A/N; YAY! WE HAVE A REAL PLOT!)_**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**_Back at the Hospital…In the past silly, despite the fact it's written like it's happening now…_**

Angel's pacing…

That's never a good thing. When Angel paces… Well, it's not a good thing.

We're outside. Me, Angel, Nudge and Ella…

And Angel's pacing. Her shoes popping the little gravels that have been tracked up here onto the Emergency Room Ambulance Admittance Bay 'E-RAAB' as I called it…

Nudge is leaned up against the wall biting her nails, which is also a bad sign because Nudge doesn't like to bite her nails, because then she has to 'do them all over again'.

And Ella … Well, Ella's the only one whose semi calm. She's sitting out here on the bench drawing in the cigarette ashtray with a stick and biting her lip.

And I'm pacing around alongside Angel because when she paces … Something's wrong.

I sniff at her ankles when she pauses and I can smell a hint of the Gasman under her scent and I know, she's getting news.

"Gazzy says they've taken Tess into the OR…"

And she starts pacing again.

So, I do too.

A few minutes later she stiffens and the ER doors open.

Fang comes out pulling Iggy, both hands on Iggy's shoulders pushing him along because it really looks like Iggy wants to run back into the hospital, even though it's a HOSPITAL and there could be Whitecoats lurking about ANYWHERE… And he's already been thrown out twice for threatening to beat the doctors 'Effing heads in'…

Only he didn't say 'effing'… He said 'F**(Star,percentsign,numbersymbol)**ing'

Iggy's crying.

Another bad sign…

He's mumbling incoherently, stuttering half of his words away into oblivion.

Fang starts walking with him, away from us, every so often saying 'It's OK, everything's gonna be OK.'

And Iggy obviously doesn't believe a word he's saying because he tries to throw Fang over his shoulder and run back to the hospital, but Fang dodges him and grabs him around the chest, pinning his wings closed and holding him still.

And Iggy starts screaming, "STOP IT! LET ME GO!" And tries to head-butt Fang but it doesn't work, thankfully. He starts cursing again and I'm not going to repeat what he was saying. If you use your imagination you'll probably figure it out.

And Angel bends down, picks me up and starts walking away with me. And there's very little I can do to stop her, other than jumping down and running back, but I don't want to do that. Angel's my friend and I trust her.

We walk across the parking lot to a little median like patch of grass with a miniature maple tree growing in the center of it.

Angel sits down and holds me on her lap, petting me, crying softly and I know what's happening. She's going to tell me more secrets. She tells me secrets when she gets upset because talking to me makes her feel better.

And it makes me feel better too…

"Angel?"

She goes kind of quiet.

"Angel, are Tess and the baby going to die?"

She doesn't answer me…

Which is never a good sign...

**_(A/N; WEE ANOTHER CHAPTER! I'm going to post a few to make up for not posting ANYTHING.)_**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Have you ever heard the term 'the suspense is killing me'?

Well, you have no idea.

We've been waiting now for almost four hours… And the suspense is LITERALLY _KILLING_ Iggy.

Its dark outside and big, fat Luna Moths are flying around the street lamps above us.

Max is here, so that means Fang had to leave.

When Max came back that night on the island and saw everyone sitting there with Fang she freaked out.

Fang has never been one to back down from a fight, even if it is with Max. I've seen her shove him and he's shoved her back. He has no inhibitions toward hitting her if she were to hit him, although I don't think he'd hit her hard… Just enough to show her that he won't take her crap… But, when she came back that night he just didn't fight back … She screamed at him and threw him out. Literally…

She chased him until he flew off, and said if she ever laid eyes on him again she would kill him…

So, he flew off for a few days. He was still on the island because I caught the others sneaking off to take him food.

Max cooled off within a week and allowed him to come back. But he lost all his privileges. If he wanted food or water, he had to go get it himself. He wasn't allowed to sleep anywhere near the Flock, she wouldn't wake him up when we were ready to go (Although he didn't sleep that whole time and it wouldn't have mattered even if he did because he would have been able to find us no sweat!) He had to carry all his own supplies, he wasn't allowed to talk to Max, and Max forbade everyone from talking to him. (Although that worked like a broken charm, they talked to him anyway.)

I felt that she was pulling a Peter Pan, so to speak. She banished him and pretended he wasn't there, even though he followed us everywhere. And when the others would talk about him she pretended as if she'd never heard of him.

Iggy got bumped up to second in command, which was a BIG shock to him, let me tell you. He'd never had so much responsibility, although he took it all in stride I must admit. Iggy wouldn't be such a bad leader himself.

But, he doesn't know Max like Fang does, and he had the tendency to say the wrong thing and make situations worse… But, he learned quickly … Mostly because he asked Fang what to do…

And nobody told Max the secret.

But, now she knows… And she's ashamed.

But, she's too stubborn to admit she was wrong. She's too stubborn to apologize… She's still too hurt that he would lie to her to forgive him.

And, yet, she knows now why he did it. And I can see it in her eyes as she turns her head and stares out over the parking lot to where he's standing in the shadow of a miniature maple tree, that she understands…

And she still loves him.

I sit here on Angel's lap watching, listening to the Luna Moths smash themselves against the lamps, listening to the terribly loud clicking of bats as they swoop down for their squishy green moth dinners. And I'm wondering. Will Max be able to forgive him?

Will she be able to go back to the way things were and save the world when the time comes? Or is she too bitter, too angry and too ashamed to allow herself to forget?

0-0-0-0-0-

It's quiet now, nothing but the clicking bats, the bashing moths and the occasional car driving past.

I don't like the quiet. Especially when it's a worried, terrified quiet like this one.

Iggy stands up and starts pacing again, both hands in his hair, his lip between his teeth, still crying.

He's more than tense. He passed the tense stage hours ago. He's into full-blown panic now. I can smell the fear on him almost as thick as the anger and pain.

It's a sour smell, a lot like urine, but not as gross. His anger is bitter, like the taste of baking soda and lemon juice, and the pain… There's no way to describe the smell of pain. Especially THIS kind of pain…

I can tell from the way he's walking, how his shoulders are hunched, his fingers rigid and digging into his scalp that he hurts more than he is scared. And he's scared more than he's angry.

He blames himself, and I'm thinking he understands more why Fang lied to Max than even Fang does.

Max puts out her hand as he passes her for like the tenth time and she grabs his shirt. He pauses and stands there like a statue. His breath hissing from his nose and around his teeth…

I can only imagine what he must be thinking. What he must be feeling.

I mean, Iggy's got self-esteem issues already. He's got about as much confidence in himself as a molding piece of Swiss cheese. Yeah, he puts on a strong front most of the time, but, I know better. I know lots of things about the flock that nobody else knows.

Like how Angel tells me secrets, how Nudge is fascinated with astronomy and the solar system. How the Gasman dreams of being a rock and roll singer and how Max likes writing stories in this funny notebook she keeps hidden in the garage about two teenagers who fall in love. But because they grew up like brother and sister, they don't know how to deal with their feelings. (Sounds familiar, doesn't it…)

I also know one of Fang's deep dark secrets that he hasn't told anyone, and has managed to keep out of his mind when Angel's around, although how he does it, I'll probably never know. No, I'm not going to tell you … It's not the right time, so stop asking.

And then the door opens…

Everyone jumps and turns their heads, hearts leaping into throats and Angel's scent instantly changes a little, taking on a hint of Dr. Martinez as the woman steps outside.

Angel sags a little back against the wall and I leap from her arms, jumping at Dr. Martinez's scrub clad legs. "Is she OK? What happened, what's going on?"

Angel hisses in my head, 'No, Total…' and I back away, my thumbs curling around my other four digits into fists.

I watch, feeling kind of sick and Dr. Martinez holds out her hand her eyes watering, chin trembling.

"Come on, Iggy…"

He makes a sobbing noise and rushes past her, his hands out before him, not seeming to care if he runs into anything or not, just wanting to get into the building as fast as possible.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**SCENE!** A Dark Utility Closet at that weird smelling school thing in Virginia

**TIME!** Eight and a half months ago…

**PLAYERS!** **_IGGY-_** Self-conscious, blind bird-boy with major self esteem issues and a lingering feeling of inadequacy that he hides beneath semi-evil smirks and his ceaselessly childish humor… **_TESS- _**Honey blonde girl, with self esteem issues and a longing to be liked. Innocent, sweet, trusting and an all-in-all good girl.

**ACTION!** _**IT**_ (Wink-wink howl?)

Aaaannnnnnnnd GO!

From what I can gather from Angel, which is something I really wouldn't recommend, and I'll probably get my furry little butt kicked when Max finds out I asked her…

Iggy and Tess had secretly been 'going out' since their trip to DC… When Max caught Fang and Lissa making out Iggy and Tess had been creeping off for a little tonsil-hockey of their own. Which bummed the Gasman out I'm pretty sure…

But, one day, Iggy and Tess' groping went a few levels higher and Iggy got to be the first member of the Flock to loose his 'Big V' if you know what I mean…

Right on a stack of History books…

I'll let your imaginations have that one, and I pray that you're not thinking anything too perverted… Please…

Well… At least he got SOME kind of use out the books, that's all I can say…

But, the whole 'IT' thing with Iggy surprises the heck out of me! Especially since Angel never told me 'Iggy's thinking of bad things!' or 'Iggy's thinking of naked girls!'

Somehow, Iggy was able to keep it out of his mind. Which, in and of itself is similar to how Fang is keeping his dark little secret out of his mind when Angel's around. Again, I don't know how they do this! Maybe Angel's loosing her touch…

But, anyhow… Iggy and Tess were … Well… In as much love as two teenagers can be I guess…

Which is why what happened after Dr. Martinez came out to get him sucks so bad…

**_ (A/N; If I get five reviews I'll post another chapter... That seem fair?)_**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Do you remember that quote I told you earlier? "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?"

Don't say that in front of Iggy… Unless you want your face smashed in…

Dr. Martinez led us all back to the OR, and that's where we found Iggy… Sitting in the floor pressed up against the wall holding something small to his chest, wailing…

And I don't say that lightly…

I've heard people screaming before… I know what pain is…

But, until that moment I'd never understood what Max and the flock meant when they'd say the word 'hell'. Hell isn't a fiery hot place full of demons and pitchforks… It's a cold, sterile place where you find the remains of your hopes and dreams…

It's a small, cold operating room… It was the sound Iggy was making…

Nobody went near him. Which I'm sad to say, was the smart thing to do…

Angel couldn't even step foot in the same ward as him because she could hear his thoughts.

I don't even want to know what the Gasman was going through, since he can read minds too. I couldn't even handle what was going on in my own mind… Smelling that terrible Hell-Room… Hearing it in Iggy's screams…

After a few minutes Dr. Martinez walked toward him, talking in a low, soft voice… Her hands out, her knees bent so she was down on his level…

But he didn't answer her…

The Gasman turned and ran from the room and Nudge followed him…

I stood there, wondering how the world could be so unfair. How in God's name could everything go so wrong for these kids? When were they going to get a break?

The weight of saving the world laid on Max's shoulders… The weight of saving Max was on Fang's… And the only good thing that had ever happened to Iggy had now been taken away from him…

The baby was a boy… A tiny little pale thing with two-toned hair. Blonde everywhere but a two-inch wide stripe of red down the middle of his head, and Iggy's eyes…

I don't know what was worse, the fact that the kid had been stillborn, or the fact Iggy was sitting there against the wall holding him… I'd never seen anything like it before. Whenever I thought about a baby bird-kid, I thought about something bad… I thought about Whitecoats and pain, and a feeling of wrongness…

But there was nothing wrong about that kid, nothing false or unnatural… It was how he'd been born. It was how God had made him… And yet, he was gone…

Why?

What kind of place was a world that would kill not only Iggy's girlfriend, but also their baby? Their beautiful, perfect little winged baby?

What kind of place was this?

What kind of horrible world was I living in that would end such innocent, peaceful and beautiful lives?

It made no sense… It was cruel… It was wrong…

I looked up at Fang but his face was utterly empty… And when Max turned to him, obviously seeking comfort… He crossed his arms over his chest and took a step back from her, his head tilting toward the floor.

And Max just stared at him… Slowly pulling her arms back, turning away.

I whipped around and walked away because, as far as I was concerned, from that moment on, the world could save itself…


	17. Chapter 17

-V-V-V

_(A/N: Yeah. I've been neglecting this for too long... So, please enjoy these chapters and forgive me my unholy folly!)_

_((You can thank Nora (AvengingMyInnocence) for lighting a fire under my ass and making me finish this thing.))_

-V-V-V

Chapter 17

I hadn't even made it out of the room before Iggy turned toward Fang and started screaming…

"Why? Why the HELL didn't you TELL ME!"

I turned and stared, kind of numb from the nose back…

Fang's eyes went wide and he stared at Iggy, his face loosing its color…

"You KNEW this was going to happen… DIDN'T YOU! You knew and you didn't say anything!"

Fang started shaking his head.

Max turned slightly, her back to Iggy, squinting at Fang. "You … You did know… Didn't you…"

And Fang started shaking… Really bad…

I knew there was no right answer here… No matter what he said they were going to be mad. If he had known, why had he kept it to himself? If he hadn't known-

"No… I didn't know… I swear to God, Max, I didn't know…"

And Max shoved him, "How could you '_not know!_' You dream of the future, Fang… You should have KNOWN! They may have been able to SAVE them!" She shoved him again, her face going red with anger, tears starting to roll down her cheeks…

"You're such a JERK! Why don't you pull your head out of your ass and start thinking about somebody ELSE for a change! You might not like what you see, but there are LIVES at stake, Fang! HUMAN LIVES! Two of which are now GONE because you're too SCARED to use your ability! Tess and that baby are DEAD because of you! You STUPID, HEARTLESS BASTARD!"

She shoved him so hard he stumbled backward and ran into the wall…

And he just stood there, staring at the ground, his hands curled into fists. His shaking had escalated into violent shudders and for half a second he just stood there… Then, slowly, he looked up into her face, pushed away from the wall… And walked out of the room.


	18. Chapter 18

-V-V-V

_(A/N: Yeah. I've been neglecting this for too long... So, please enjoy these chapters and forgive me my unholy folly!)_

_((You can thank Nora (AvengingMyInnocence) for lighting a fire under my ass and making me finish this thing.))_

-V-V-V

Chapter 18

I turned and followed Fang because I caught a weird smell coming off of him. Just like the smell I'd gotten off of him months and months before…

A frightening, horrible smell…

Okay … REWIND!!!

(Insane jibberish 'rewind' noises)

**SCENE!** Anne Walker's kitchen...

**TIME!** About a year ago…

**PLAYERS!** **_FANG-_** Secretive bird boy with underlying feelings of guilt that make him appear dark and mysterious even though he's just horny and awkward. **_TOTAL_**_-_ Awesomely cool, fun, interesting awesome talking dog who is best friends with Angel and knows a LOT of secrets of the goings on of the Flock.

**ACTION!** Fang sitting at the kitchen table crunching up ice cubes with his teeth, Total (That's me) hiding under the couch playing 007-ninja-talking-dog…

Aaaannnnnnnnd GO!

You remember when I was telling you about Fang sitting there crunching up ice cubes with his TEETH?

(Shivers and licks own teeth.)

Well, he was sitting there, all sweaty. His hair sticking to him, his face flushed, crunching up the second ice tray full of ice with his teeth … HIS TEETH! AS IN **CHEWING** IT!

And I'm hiding under the couch watching him, gently sniffing, filing away his scents.

Sweat, fear, nausea, overwhelming heat… worry.

Then he grinds his teeth and he starts smelling like he's in pain, pain from his head…

And … He flickers.

Everything, all his skin, going dark, like the color of his hair and wings… And then he went back to normal, kind of sagging a little, acting like he's going to barf his bird-boy guts up right there on the table.

And then the smell hit me… This new additive to his scent…

Well, like I said before, the flickering thing was just the beginning.

After that he started changing.

He started dreaming of the future, and every so often his dark little secret would show it's ugly shadow…

How do I know about his secret?

Because I was there when he figured it out… And, let me tell you… It was horrible…

No, I can't tell you what it is yet… Grow some patience…

Fang pushed through the double doors of the OR and I ran after him, my legs working pretty fast to be able to keep up with his super long legs…

And then I hear Angel scream.

"NO! FANG, _NO!"_

And she runs at him, her face puffy and wet, and she wraps her arms around his waist, pressing her face into his stomach.

And then the Gasman's running up, wrapping his arms around Fang too. "You can't… Fang, you can't leave!"

But he doesn't even react as he peels them off and continues walking.

"FANG! You want to stay!" Angel said, closing her eyes really tightly her whole body trembling as she tries to mind-control him into staying…

The Gasman screwed up his face and I know he's trying to make Fang stay too, even though he can't control minds…

But, somehow… Fang kept walking…

And then I remembered what Angel said in Germany…

_"He's gonna do something stupid, and cause he won't sleep cause he's scared, he won't know its stupid until he's already done it… I don't know what he's gonna do, but its gonna be really stupid thinking that it'll protect us all."_

_"Stupid enough to get us killed?" _

_"Stupid enough to break something important."_

_"What?"_

_"I don't know, but its small, and he wants it really bad... Bad enough to leave us over it."_


	19. Chapter 19

-v-v-v

_(A/N; Okay, I'm lame and have to rely on Nora to light fires under my butt. Everyone go give her cookies and matches.)_

-v-v-v

**Chapter 19**

Angel snatched me up, and ran with me. Right out the door after Fang and she launched herself into the air, flying right after him.

A few of those big fat luna moths hit us as we flew past and I snapped at one. Just to see if they were as good tasting as the bats made them out to be.

Yuck … Not really that good… Although they do have a certain nuttiness about them that would be good with almond roasted chicken in a butter glaze. The taste had really unique ambience… It would REALLY go good with a nice Chardonnay or a woody malt whiskey…

No, you're too young…

Angel and I caught up to Fang a few minutes later. And he didn't look to happy to see us.

"Go back, Angel… Go back now!" He called in a commanding voice…

And Angel flinched… "Fang, PLEASE, don't go!"

"I've got some things I need to figure out, and it won't help for you to read my mind either so stop trying…"

She flinched again… Maybe she had the hiccups…

"Please…" And she made Bambi eyes at him. I know she was, I could almost feel it…

He shook his head. "It's too late, Angel… I… I can't," He took a deep, choked breath and let it out slowly.

"Angel…" I slowly turned in the circle of her arms and put my paws on either side of her face. "Angel, let me go with him… I'll make sure he comes back."

She bit her lip, tears spilling out of her eyes, then slowly, almost as if I were asking her to chop off one of her own wings, she eased as close to Fang as possible… And handed me over.

He wasn't too thrilled. In fact, he was really mad… But, Angel turned and flew off before he could hand me back.

I watched Angel go then turned to Fang, my ears drooping.

He looked down at me and all I saw in his face was guilt…

-v-v-v


	20. Chapter 20

-v-v-v

_(A/N; Okay, I'm lame and have to rely on Nora to light fires under my butt. Everyone go give her cookies and matches.)_

-v-v-v

Chapter 20

We flew in silence all the way to the Martinez house.

Fang left me sitting on the porch roof, ducked into the guestroom. And packed his things. Which didn't take any longer than five minutes… Fang doesn't have that much stuff. Just enough to fill a book bag, and that includes all the food he needs for three days.

I stuck my head in the window and watched him as he slipped into the bathroom… And I heard something rattling around in a plastic jar… Then the faucet running as he put his mouth under it and drank.

A few seconds later he came back out and climbed out the window. He sat there for a few minutes, wiping at his eyes and wringing his hands. Then he cleared his throat and spoke. "You don't have to come with me… You can stay here… In fact, I'd rather you did stay here."

I shook my head. "I promised Angel I'd-"

"I don't care what you promised Angel … I promised Max I wouldn't ever leave and look at me now."

"You don't have to leave, Fang…"

He shakes his head. "Yeah … I do."

I stared at him then sighed, "I'm going with you… One of us has to keep our promise… It might as well be me."

He didn't look at me as he stood, or as he bent and scooped me up, tucking me inside his jacket and zipping it up. He didn't say anything as he looked around the yard, but I heard the hitch in his breath. And then we were air born.

Flying straight up into the night sky, headed north-east toward Colorado.

I wondered if I'd ever see Angel again, but, I'm not stupid, I know I probably never will…

-v-v-v


	21. Chapter 21

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_(A/N; Okay, I'm lame and have to rely on Nora to light fires under my butt. Everyone go give her cookies and matches.)_

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Chapter 21

I love flying, feeling the wind on my face, all the smells and sounds…

He shot up into the air until the town below looked like a miniature out of a movie. Tiny little cars moving around the size of ants. Buildings that I feel like I could crush with my paw.

_RUN! IT'S FANGZILLA! _I chuckled to myself, picturing a two-hundred foot tall Fang crunching through the town below roaring and gnashing his teeth.

I'd be the super hero, flying in, in my red satin cape zooming around and around the terrible invader like a gnat, before dealing the deathblow karate chop to the bridge of his nose, because that's the only weakness…

Yeah, I could be a super hero… I could save Angel from the terrible monsters… Even if they are only in my head…

But then I stopped myself… Why had I made Fang into the bad guy?

He hadn't done anything wrong … Not really… Except refusing to sleep because he was afraid…

Why had Max pinned Tess' and Iggy's baby's death on Fang?

Fang didn't know just like Iggy hadn't known that his failing to keep his pants on would end up making Tess pregnant in the first place.

I promised myself to give those kids a lecture on the proper use of prophylactics… And common sense…

If I ever saw them again…

Which, from how far Fang and I had already flown, was beginning to look more and more slim…

We flew for about another hour before I realized something wasn't right.

The sun was starting to come up in front of us and I could see it reflected off some rocky hills… Sparse prickly looking pine trees were growing up from the rocks, and in the valleys there was green vegetation and on the odd occasion a stream or a little waterfall.

But, it wasn't the scenery that was off… It was the sound of Fang's breathing… And the bobbing, ship on the ocean, kind of feeling I was getting every time he flapped his wings…

It wasn't a good sound, or feeling. I was starting to get seasick…

"Fang, you okay, big buddy?"

It took him a few seconds to answer me.

"'m fine…"

Fang started to descend and I saw what looked like a cave up in these rocky hills.

I like caves they have AWSOME smells in them.

The world started to get bigger as we came in for a landing and I heard a few twigs on trees snapping as Fang went through some branches.

He landed hard, unusually hard and grunted when his knees almost buckle.

I jump down and turn to look at him, "You OK?"

He was really pale and sweaty looking…

"Fang, are you sure you're OK?"

He nodded and stumbled forward into the cave and dropped to his knees, "I'm … Just tired," His eyes rolled back into his head and he flopped over onto his side and laid there with his wings out and limp…

I stood there in the mouth of the cave for a few minutes and I'm telling you this now, I was really nervous…

"Fang?"

He didn't answer me so I stood there waiting for a few more seconds before I tried again.

"Fang?"

Worry bubbled in my guts. _Should I go see what's up? Something doesn't smell right…_ I thought to myself. _Yeah, I'm gonna go see what's wrong…_

The inside of the cave was moist, gross… And water was dripping from the roof…

Fang didn't speak as I approached him and I realized he was lying in a little puddle of water, and he wasn't moving…

"Hey, Fang, come on, stop messing around."

I pushed his hand with my nose, sniffing at him, smelling the ground as well as something on his hands…

Something chemical…

I sniffed at his chest but the smell wasn't there… But it was on his face… Around his mouth…

It was a bad chemical smell, kind of sour… Nothing naturally made in the human or bird-kid body…

"Fang, come on, wake up…"

His eyes came open to little slits and I saw something in them I'm not used to seeing…

Fear.

My stomach grumbled nervously again and I felt myself start to shake.

"Fang, what did you eat?"

He didn't answer me.

"Of what food like substance did you partake!" I grabbed him by the jacket with my teeth and pulled as hard as I could, rolling him over, then I went for his pack, practically climbing on top of him to get to it. The chemical smell was coming from his pack… It was so much stronger…

I shoved my head into the bag and started digging, moving aside his clothes his notebooks- And then I've got my nose pressed right up against it…

A little plastic, rattling bottle…

I know that smell… That's the same smell as the sleepy water…

The sleepy water the Whitecoats would give other experiments at the institute in New York where I grew up…

They would take away your food and water about three days before, then they'd give you a big bowl of the sleepy water… And you'd go to sleep… And they took you away…

And for a second, standing here with my nose pressed up against that little bottle smelling it, I was no longer in a cave, I was back in New York at that terrible institute…

I wasn't Total any more … I was 113876DH5…

-v-v-v


	22. Chapter 22

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_(A/N; Okay, I'm lame and have to rely on Nora to light fires under my butt. Everyone go give her cookies and matches.)_

-v-v-v

Chapter 22

There were three bird-kids in the lab with me at the institute. Then there were a few others, a little boy who had been recombined with chipmunk DNA, they called him Alvin… A girl who could change her skin the color of her surroundings… And a few others I couldn't quite identify.

One of the three bird-kids in the lab with me was a thirteen year old girl who reminds me a lot of Fang, although I won't tell him this ever…

She had long dark hair and dark wings flecked with white.

She'd been out once before. Escaped for two months, but they caught her and drug her back…

She knew the outside world and every night when the guards and Whitecoats were gone she'd tell us stories… Or she'd sing.

And she had a beautiful voice… Like an Angel.

She'd sing and everything would go quiet. Everyone would listen to her, entranced by her…

The Whitecoats called her Siren. She was the one who named me Total…

I never talked to her, because, well, she scared me.

You see, when she sang, sometimes the Whitecoats would do things…

She sang at the janitor one night and he let her out of her cage. That's how she escaped.

It's also why the Whitecoats and janitors and guards wore earplugs whenever they went into our room. Because if they listened to her, they would do whatever she sang them to do…

Siren's friend, her best friend was another bird boy the Whitecoats called Sparrow. He didn't talk, but would chirp all the time.

Siren would sing for him and he'd sing chirpy songs for her.

But, one day, the Whitecoats gave Sparrow sleepy water and took him away…

About a week later they gave sleepy water to Flori, the little girl with wings that slept in a cage right beside Siren.

After that Siren stopped singing…

And about a month later Angel, Max and the Flock showed up and set us all free…

Sometimes I wonder what happened to Siren. But I don't like to think about her being caught again with the others, so I try not to think about it too much…

I try not to think about them at all…

I believed I was safe here, with my new family. I believed I was out of that kind of danger. I believed I'd never have to smell sleepy water on someone's breath ever again…

I was wrong…

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